Foreign Dominion

Chapter 15 - Coming as They Are

"Oh my god, it's amazing!"

The crew of the CTMS had gotten their M8A1. It sat alongside the tiny CTMS as they fawned over the vehicle. Akari, the tank's commander-gunner, leaned against the turret cheek and gestured toward the CTMS.

"This is horseshit... and this is glorious." She said as she slapped the roof of the M8A1. "You can fit so much tank killing in this bad boy!"

The driver was already exploring her position. "Oooh, look at this! Hydramatic transmission! And I actually have space! And optics that aren't delicate garbage! Eiko, can we pleeaaase take it on a test run?"

Both crew members looked toward Eiko with puppy dog eyes, who was checking the engine and running gear.

"I'm so jealous of you people right now. Twin Caddy V8s and an automatic transmission, with a low weight on top. Everything looks perfect, go take her for a spin."

"YAY!"

"You're gonna need more crew, though. Unlike the CTMS, the turret is big enough for three people. Akari, you'll need to find a loader and a commander if you want to keep your role as a gunner."

"We'll find them later. For now, we're just going to mess around in a tank that doesn't suck."

With that, the little tank destroyer roared out of the garage and sped across the parking lot.

Ayame dashed out of her office, nearly tripping over herself as she ran toward the Ram. At first Amy thought something was horribly wrong, but that thought disappeared when she saw the smile on Ayame's face.

"What's with you?" Delilah asked.

"We're going shopping!"

"Uh."

"I need a couple of you to come with me when we to look at the T49 before we buy it. For once, we're allowed to see the tanks we want to buy."

"You really want all of us along?"

"No, I think I just need someone who knows more about tanks and someone who can check on all the mechanical stuff."

Delilah turned to Yelena, who had been watching the M8A1 with amusement. "Yelena, you said you're familiar with every position on a tank. You want to go?"

"Sure, but I'm no mechanical genius."

"That's fine." Ayame said. She called across the garage to where Eiko was organizing the new equipment for the M8A1. "Eiko! Get over here, we're going tank shopping!"

Amy poked her head out of the Ram's side door. "You want a ride down to the well deck?"

Yelena shook her head and asked Eiko to drive. Ayame agreed under the pretense they'd need a car to get around once they got to shore.

"You people just don't appreciate good driving."

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With Ayame and part of the Ram's crew gone, Delilah had decided to spend practice that day training the new students that would crew the T49. She'd had each one try out each position using the M7 since its turret was nearly identical and explained to them what each one did. They chose their positions and then split up to work on getting the basic skills down. The gunner and loader were with Mia in the turret of the Ram while Delilah and the commander sat on the sides. Amy brought the driver to a Stuart. Within half an hour, she had the rookie driver drifting the light tank around obstacles.

"I'm not sure how different the handling will be, but this is the closest thing I can think of. They're both pretty light vehicles, so just get a feeling for what it's like to drive and don't worry about getting everything right."

In the Ram, Mia guided the loader and gunner on how to operate the gun.

"This is the same gun you'll have in the T49. It's a British Ordnance QF 6-pounder. That makes no sense and sounds long, so I normally call it the "6-pounder" or just "the 6." Sometimes you'll hear people call it the 57mm, since that's the caliber and that's how it was referred to in American service."

"Um... the M7 was different. How do you move it up and down?" The gunner asked.

Mia explained the shoulder pad elevation and the stabilization benefits of not having a mechanical elevation wheel.

The loader wriggled around in her seat. "It's really... cozy in here..."

"Yeah, but it's not as bad as you think. The T49 has the same turret as the M7 so you'll get more room. The rounds for the 6 are smaller and lighter than that of the 75, so you'll have a pretty easy time."

She and Delilah worked on hitting simple targets. Mia acted as the commander for the two in the turret while Delilah explained in greater detail to the commander what was going on and how she would be involved. After a while, they had the commander take Mia's place to get used to working together and giving commands.

Delilah gave one last example callout. "Gunner, target tank, 400 meters!"

"Ready!" Came the response from inside the turret.

"FIRE!"

"On the way!"

A round sailed downrange, hitting the edge of a target.

"Not bad, not bad at all. Keep at it, switch to a new target each time to get used to slewing the gun around." Mia instructed. She slid off the turret and stood on the engine deck with Delilah.

"Hey, what did you think of Ayame during the Saunders match?" The Scottish girl asked.

"In the opinion of me, who lasted a week as a tank commander and whose only knowledge of commanding an entire team is learned by watching others? Ayame did pretty good, actually. She had a good plan in defending the hill in a line, but maybe it wasn't the best idea with limited tanks. Then again, she did set up so she could assist whoever needed help, which is good. So maybe not a bad idea after all?"

"What about the suicide charges?"

Mia shrugged. "She scares easily. Remember, you have a cool head that's superhuman. You can't expect her to be perfect."

"I don't expect her to do that. In fact, what she did was pretty similar to what I would have done. Minus the freaking out and having someone charge. Charging isn't always a bad idea, but it's like a nervous tick for her. When something goes wrong, it's what she does."

"I see what you're getting at. If she does it too much and it becomes known, other teams will definitely try to exploit that. In fact, I think Saunders already did. I re-watched the recording and it looks like Kay specifically focused on the M7 just before Ayame freaked out and ran."

Delilah nodded as another round went downrange. "You say you don't know a bunch, yet here you are keeping up with me."

At that moment, Delilah heard the clattering of tracks behind her. Before she had time to look around, the M5 Stuart slid around the Ram in a complete circle. Amy was in the turret, throwing devil horns with one hand as she held on with the other.

"Woo! This is what being a commander feels like! Delilah, I want your job!"

The Stuart pulled alongside the Ram as Mia burst out laughing. Delilah wasn't sure exactly how to react. "Do you really want to be a commander or do you just like being driven around?"

"Nah, I like driving. It's just fun running circles around you."

Mia had finished her laughing fit and was eyeing the driver of the Stuart. "Amy, you think she's ready to work with the rest of her crew?"

Amy shrugged and looked toward the girl in the driver's seat. "You think you can handle it? The Ram's much heavier than the Stuart."

"It doesn't hurt to try, right?"

"That's the attitude I like! In the Ram, the driver sits on the right side. You can get in through the side door."

After a quick introduction to driving the Ram, the T49 driver was able to do well enough that the new crew was allowed to run through the simulated target range. They were working together as a crew for the very first time. Although they didn't even have their correct tank yet, the crew of the T49 was beginning their journey to develop as a team.